Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is bracing to launch its first Mars mission to become the first Asian country to accomplish it. Photo: NASA
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Preparations are afoot for the upcoming “big-bang” Mars Orbiter Mission in October-November, an ambitious venture that would shed light on the possible existence of life on the planet besides boosting space agency ISRO’s brand equity.
The satellite, which would be launched on board Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-XL), will carry compact science experiments, totalling a mass of 15 kg, according to ISRO officials. There will be five instruments to study Martian surface, atmosphere and mineralogy.
Lyman Alpha Photometer (LAP) is aimed at studying the escape processes of Mars upper atmosphere through Deuterium/Hydrogen, Methane Sensor for MARS (MSM) would look to detect presence of Methane while Martian Exospheric Composition Explorer (MENCA) would study the neutral composition of the Martian upper atmosphere.
MARS Colour Camera (MCC) would undertake optical imaging and TIR imaging spectrometer (TIS) is targetted to map surface composition and mineralogy.
“Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) spacecraft integration is under progress”, an ISRO official told PTI here today. “The spacecraft has to undergo qualification tests for proving space worthiness once the integration is completed”.
The mission would help ISRO understand the technological challenges of such an exploration, the possible existence of life and future colonisation of Mars, which is the nearest planet which has most resemblance to earth. This would be India’s first mission to a distant planet.
ISRO will launch the mission in October-November. “If launched within the launch window (October 21-November 19, 2013), the spacecraft will travel for least distance to reach Mars”, the official said.
This is the immediate next available opportunity for such a mission as Earth and Mars would be coming closer then.
The PSLV-XL (PSLV-C25) will inject the spacecraft from the spaceport of Sriharikota in the 250 X 23000 km orbit.
After leaving earth orbit in November, MOM spacecraft will cruise in deep space for 10 months using its own propulsion system and will reach Mars (Martian transfer trajectory) in September 2014.
The 1350 kg spacecraft subsequently is planned to enter into a 372 km by 80,000 km elliptical orbit around Mars.
“The primary objective of this challenging mission is to establish the Indian technological capabilities to reach the orbit of Mars”, says ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan, also Secretary in the Department of Space. “A number of technological challenges need to be negotiated for a successful Mars mission“.
Critical mission operations and stringent requirements on propulsion, communications and other bus systems of the spacecraft are sure to keep the Bangalore-headquarterd ISRO on tenterhooks.
“One of the technological challenges is to realise related deep space mission planning and communication management at a distance of nearly 400 million km”, an ISRO official said.
The spacecraft has been provided with augmented radiation shielding for its prolonged exposure in the Van Allen belt. Due to the long range of the order of 55-400 million km from Earth to Mars, there is a communication delay of 20 minutes one way itself. For this reason, ISRO has built high level of onboard autonomy within Mars orbiter. For Chandrayaan-1, ISRO had to deal with only four lakh kms.
The robustness and reliability of propulsion system is “one order higher” as after leaving the orbit of Earth the system would require to work after almost 300 days. And during this voyage, the system needs to maintain complete integrity so as to capture the Martian orbit.
Capture of the Mars orbit or the Martian insertion is the critical event that would determine the success of this mission, ISRO officials say.
Besides the Mars Orbiter, ISRO has also planned a series of launches of various satellites both from the country and Kourou, French Guiana, during the current financial year.
India’s communication satellite INSAT-3D is slated to be launch onboard Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana by the end of this month while the European spaceport would also launch the GSAT-7 during the year.
GSAT-14 would be launched on board GSLV on August 6 to be followed by SPOT-7, earth observation satellite, which would be put in space by a PSLV in December this year, ISRO has said.
The Indian space agency also planned to undertake GSLV Mark III experimental mission in January next year and launch the country’s second navigation satellite IRNSS-1D in March.
IRNSS-1A, the first in the series of seven navigation satellites under the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), was launched onboard PSLV C22 from Sriharikota on July 2.
Quelle: The Hindu
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Update: 7.09.2013
Indien startet nächste Woche offiziell die ISRO-Mars-Mission
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will unveil the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) on Wednesday, kick-starting its much-anticipated mission to Mars.
Mom is scheduled to be launched during October 21-November 19 using the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-C25 (PSLV-C25) and will carry five payloads.
An official note issued here on Friday said: “The spacecraft, with all the payloads, has completed the Thermo-Vacuum Test that extensively tests the spacecraft under simulated environment space. At the same time, PSLV-C25 launch campaign has also commenced at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota and the first stage with the strap-ons has been assembled.”
The launcher is likely to be ready for integration by October 10. After leaving the earth’s orbit in November, the spacecraft will cruise in space for about 10 months before finally entering the Red Planet’s orbit.
The spacecraft will be placed in an elliptical orbit, the nearest point of which from Mars' surface will be 500 km and the farthest point will be 80,000 km.
The 1,350-kg spacecraft will carry five instruments/payloads totalling a mass of 15-kg selected by the Advisory Committee for Space Sciences (ADCOS), to study the Martian surface, atmosphere and mineralogy.
Checking for methane, mapping the Martian surface and sending data from the optical imaging payload are among the important activities of the mission.
Quelle:DECCAN HERALD
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Quelle: ISRO
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Update: 10.09.2013
ISRO's Mars satellite clears key launch test
BANGALORE: India's launch preparations for the ambitious Rs 450 crore Mars orbiter mission achieved a major milestone with the successful thermo-vacuum test of the spacecraft with its payloads (scientific instruments).
It extensively tested the spacecraft under simulated space environment. The spacecraft would now undergo vibration and acoustic tests before being transported from here by month-end to the spaceport of Sriharikota, where the launch campaign has already commenced.
The spacecraft is slated to be launched by Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C25) during October 21-November 19.
The first stage of PSLV-C25 with strap-ons has already been assembled, with the rocket ready for satellite integration by October ten, officials of Indian Space Research Organisation said.
ISRO said the primary objectives of the mission are to demonstrate India's technological capability to send a satellite to orbit around Mars and conduct meaningful experiments such as looking for signs of life, take pictures of the red planet and study Martian environment.
The satellite will carry compact science experiments, totalling a mass of 15 kg. There will be five instruments to study Martian surface, atmosphere and mineralogy.
After leaving earth orbit in November, the spacecraft will cruise in deep space for 10 months using its own propulsion system and will reach Mars ( Martian transfer trajectory) in September 2014.
The 1350 kg spacecraft subsequently is planned to enter into a 372 km by 80,000 km elliptical orbit around Mars.
"We want to look at environment of Mars for various elements like Deuterium-Hydrogen ratio. We also want to look at other constituents - neutral constituents", ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan told PTI recently.
"There are several things which Mars will tells us, this is what the scientific community thinks about the life on Mars", he had said.
"Our (Mars mission) experiments are planned in such a way that you can decide when you want to put on each of these systems," Radhakrishnan had said.
"If we succeed (in the mission), it positions India into group of countries who will have the ability to look at Mars. In future, certainly, there will be synergy between various countries in such exploration. That's taking place. That time India will be a country to be counted", he said.
Quelle: The Economic Times
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Update: 12.09.2013
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Scientists working with the Mars Orbiter Mission Space craft which was unveiled at ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC) in Bangalore on Wednesday.
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India's upcoming Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) seeks to reveal whether there is methane, considered a "precursor chemical" for life, on the Red Planet, key officials behind the ambitious venture said on Wednesday.
A Methane Sensor, one of the five payloads (scientific instruments) onboard the spacecraft, would look to detect the presence of the gas, MOM Project Director Arunan S said.
He said the sensor was aimed at understanding whether life existed on Mars or if it would have life in future.
"Methane is fundamentally base [sic] for life on any planet," he said.
M Annadurai, Programme Director, IRS & SSS (Indian Remote Sensing & Small, Science and Student Satellites), said: "Most probably we will be able to answer whether there is presence of Methane. If it's there, yes; if it's not, not there. If it's available, where it's available".
After a media preview of the Mars orbiter at ISRO Satellite Centre here, where it is being given final shape, officials of the space agency indicated that the aim is to launch the mission on October 21, weather permitting.
The launch window is from October 21 to November 19.
MOM is a Rs 450 crore mission -- Rs110 crore for building PSLV-C25 that would launch the Rs150 crore spacecraft, with the remaining amount spent on augmenting ground segment, including those required for deep space communication.
Once launched from the spaceport of Sriharikota, the spacecraft would go around the earth for 20-25 days before embarking on a 9-month voyage to Mars. The minimum life of the spacecraft around Mars is six months but it would certainly outlive it, as similar satellites orbited by other countries have sometimes lasted six-seven years, Arunan said
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Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) on Wednesday unveiled its Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) spacecraft, which is scheduled to be launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota between October 21 and November 19. The `450 crore MOM, as it has been officially named by Isro, will be the space agency’s first interplanetary mission, and it will be launched by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-XL).
Scientists and engineers at the Isro Satellite Centre, where the spacecraft has been built, said the MOM is the most challenging space mission ever undertaken by India so far. Apart from the fact that it will take about nine months for the space craft to reach the Red Planet after leaving the Earth’s orbit (if the satellite leaves the earth orbit in November 2013, it will reach Mars in September 2014), the scientists and engineers will have the arduous task to realise related deep space mission planning and communication management at a distance of nearly 400 million km.
“This mission is totally different from the earlier ones undertaken by Isro, including the Chandrayaan-1. With the earlier satellites, we received the data within few seconds. In case of the Chandrayaan-1, it was within two or three seconds. But here, to have a to and fro communication between the spacecraft and the earth stations, it will take nearly 40 minutes. If something happened to the Orbiter, it would take us 40 minutes to react,” said M Annadurai, programme director, IRS & SSS (Indian Remote Sensing & Small, Science and Student Satellites).
However, KS Shivkumar, director of Isro Satellite Centre, said the project team has undertaken all contingency measures to ensure that the spacecraft can take decisions on its own in case of an unprecedented eventuality. A full scale autonomy has been built into the spacecraft, which would take decisions on its own and put it on safe mode without any ground interventions, he said.
Detecting the presence of methane
Arunan S, project director of MOM, said the satellite with five payloads onboard will carry compact science experiments. The five payloads are Lyman Alpha Photometer (LAP), Methane Sensor for MARS (MSM), Martian Exospheric Composition Explorer (MENCA), MARS Colour Camera (MCC and TIR imaging spectrometer (TIS).
MOM seeks to reveal whether there is methane, considered a “precursor chemical” for life, on the Red Planet, key officials behind the ambitious venture said on Wednesday.
Quelle: dna
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Update: 22.09.2013
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Scientists of Mars Orbiter Mission working on the spacecraft, at ISAC. Photo: V Sreenivasa Murthy
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Bangalore, Sept 22:
India’s Mars Orbiter Mission is slated to be launched on October 28 after a national committee of experts gave the go ahead for the Rs 450 crore ambitious venture after threadbare deliberations.
The committee held deliberations over two days on Thursday and Friday last and reviewed the status after senior Indian Space Research Organisation scientists gave an in-depth presentation on the mission.
Primary objectives of the mission are to demonstrate India’s technological capability to send a satellite to orbit around Mars and conduct meaningful experiments such as looking for signs of life, take pictures of the red planet and study Martian environment.
“The committee has given the go ahead”, an ISRO official said here today.
Former ISRO Chairman U.R Rao, noted space expert Roddam Narasimha and Professors of Indian Institute of Science Bangalore were among those part of the eminent panel.
The October 21-November 19 launch window has now been pushed forward by a week, and it now starts on October 28 though final date of the window remains the same (Nov19).
“We would like to utilise the first available opportunity”, the official said, adding, the launch can be expected on the afternoon of October 28, weather permitting.
The Rs 150-crore Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) spacecraft is currently undergoing vibration and acoustic tests at ISRO Satellite Integration and Testing Establishment here, and is slated for shipment from here on September 30 to the Sriharikota spaceport after a pre-shipment committee review on September 26.
Launch campaign has already commenced in Sriharikota spaceport from where the 1,350-kg MOM spacecraft is slated to be launched by the Rs 110 crore Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C25).
The first stage of the PSLV-C25 with strap-ons has already been assembled, with the rocket ready for satellite integration by October 10.
The satellite will carry compact science experiments, totalling a mass of 15 kg. There will be five instruments to study Martian surface, atmosphere and mineralogy.
After leaving the earth’s orbit, the spacecraft will cruise in deep space for about ten months using its own propulsion system and will reach Martian transfer trajectory in September 2014.
The spacecraft subsequently is planned to enter into a 372 km by 80,000 km elliptical orbit around Mars.
The main theme of MOM appears to be to seek to reveal whether there is methane, considered a “precursor chemical” for life, on the red planet.
Methane sensor, one of the five payloads (scientific instruments) on board the spacecraft, would look to detect the presence of Methane.
Quelle: BL
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Update: 23.09.2013
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Nasa's Mars findings pose questions for Isro mission
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Nasa’s Mars rover, Curiosity, coming up empty-handed in its search for methane in the planet’s atmosphere, is likely to throw a wet blanket on India’s forthcoming mission to the Red Planet.
The revelation is likely to affect Indian Space Research Organisation’s (Isro’s) Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), as one of the primary objective of the Rs450 crore venture is to detect the presence of methane, a gas that on Earth is a strong indicator of life, in the Martian atmosphere. A methane sensor for Mars is among the five scientific instruments onboard the MOM spacecraft.
Curiosity landed on Mars in August 2012 to determine whether the planet, which is the closest to Earth in terms of its atmospheric conditions, has or ever had the chemistry and conditions to support microbial life. According to Nasa, the roving laboratory performed extensive tests to search for traces of Martian methane.
The rover analysed Martian atmospheric samples for methane six times from October 2012 to June this year, but in vain. Data retrieved from Curiosity pointing to the inexistence of methane has given rise to concerns about the fate of Isro’s MOM, scheduled to be launched from Sriharikota.
Quelle: dna
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Update: 2.10.2013
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Countdown to launch of Mars orbiter begins today
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On Wednesday, India’s orbiter to Mars will begin its journey from Isro’s Satellite Centre (ISAC) in Bengaluru to the launch pad at Sriharikota range, precisely five years to the day that Chandrayaan-I commenced a similar trip to the spaceport, marking the first step of the space scientists’ tryst with the red planet.
The 1,340-kg orbiter, set for launch by a modified, powerful version of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) on October 28, has been given the thumbs-up by experts after a slew of tests, Isro chairman K. Radhakrishnan told this news in an exclusive interview. It will be propelled into space in such a manner that the spacecraft saves sufficient fuel for its 300-day cruise to Martian environment even as space scientists check out five instruments onboard — two to support atmospheric studies, two for surface imaging studies, and one for environmental studies beginning September 2014. Two ships of the Shipping Corporation of India and DRDO, positioned in Pacific Ocean, would track the orbiter during the initials hours of the orbiter’s entry into space, he added.
With communication signals likely to take 20 minutes to the orbiter and vice-versa, Indian space scientists have built-in systems which allow the orbiter to take decisions on its own when plagued by glitches. “It is for the first time that we have built full-scale autonomy on the spacecraft,” he said.
Quelle: ISRO
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Update: 3.10.2013
At the crack of dawn on Wednesday, the Mars orbiter spacecraft ceremoniously rolled out of its nest here and took the first baby step of its 400-million-km journey. But before its grand voyage, it is first headed for the Sriharikota launch centre in coastal Andhra Pradesh.
Amidst chants of prayer and loads of good wishes and in the presence of large gathering of scientists, ISRO Satellite Centre Director S.K. Shivakumar flagged off the mother of the Indian Space Research Organisation’s ventures — the Mars Orbiter Mission or MOM — at 6 a.m from the second advanced satellite integration and testing campus, ISITE, at Marathahalli.
The spacecraft, sent by road in a safe cocoon, will reach the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota on Thursday afternoon and undergo further tests and checks until its launch, ISRO spokesman Deviprasad Karnik told The Hindu.
‘Satisfying day’
“It has been one satisfying day for our team,” said Mars project director S.Arunan, describing the mission’s kick-off from Bangalore. “We achieved it in a short time [after the project was approved in September 2012] within a tight deadline. Today, all those sleepless months did not matter.”
MOM, carrying five ISRO instruments, is a Rs. 450-crore Indian space dream that is devised to study the atmosphere, surface and chemicals of Mars, just 372 km from the red planet’s surface.
ISRO Chairman K. Radhakrishnan earlier said the scientists aimed to launch the spacecraft from Sriharikota around 4.30 p.m. on October 28. After days of complex manoeuvring, the spacecraft is slated to be slung off Earth’s orbit on November 30 and it will begin its 300-day journey to Mars. It is expected to reach the Martian zone in mid-September 2014 and orbit it for at least six months.
Mars missions become possible once in 26 months based on the positions of Earth and Mars. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the U.S. is also sending its MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) mission on November 18.
In Bangalore, the spacecraft cleared the mechanical solar panel and antenna movements and vibration and acoustic tests, Mr. Karnik said. On reaching Sriharikota, it would go through electrical and other checks. A week ahead of the launch, it would be sent away for being fitted into the launch vehicle. The launcher, PSLV-C25, is an extended XL version, currently being readied for the mission.
As the mission unfolds, Mr. Arunan’s team is bracing itself for many more sleepless nights and nail-biting moments.
Quelle: The Hindu
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Mars spacecraft shipped out of Bangalore for Oct 28 launch from Sriharikota
India's Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) spacecraft was shipped out of Bangalore on Wednesday for the October 28 launch from the Sriharikota spaceport, setting the stage for final preparations for the odyssey to the red planet. "It was put in a special container where we have the monitoring of the environment inside", an official of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) told PTI. Accompanied by a convoy, the truck-trailer carrying the container is currently on its way by road Sriharikota, where it's slated to reach on Thursday afternoon. Gandhi Jayanti day was chosen for the journey as traffic would be less.
A national committee of experts and pre-shipment review panel had earlier given their go-ahead for the Rs 450 crore ambitious venture. Primary objectives of the mission are to demonstrate India s technological capability to send a satellite to orbit around Mars and conduct meaningful experiments such as looking for signs of life, take pictures of the red planet and study Martian environment. Bangalore-based ISRO said the Rs 150-crore spacecraft would be launched on October 28 at 16 hours, 14 minutes and 45 seconds (4.15 pm), weather permitting. Launch campaign has already commenced at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, about 90 km from Chennai, from where the 1,350-kg MOM spacecraft is slated to be launched by the Rs 110 crore Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C25). The first stage of the PSLV-C25 with strap-ons has already been assembled, with the rocket ready for satellite integration by October 10. The satellite will carry compact science experiment instruments, totalling a mass of 15 kg. There will be five instruments to study Martian surface, atmosphere and mineralogy. After leaving the earth's orbit, the spacecraft will cruise in deep space for about ten months using its own propulsion system and will reach Martian transfer trajectory in September 2014. The spacecraft subsequently is planned to enter into a 372 km by 80,000 km elliptical orbit around Mars. The main theme of MOM appears to be to seek to reveal whether there is methane, considered a precursor chemical for life, on the red planet. Methane sensor, one of the five payloads (scientific instruments) on board the spacecraft, would look to detect the presence of Methane. Quelle: IBN
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Update: 5.10.2013
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US govt shutdown may force Isro to delay October 28 Mars mission launch by 2 years
BANGALORE: While the US government shutdown has inconvenienced millions of Americans, it's also worrying Isro scientists working on India's ambitious space programme to Mars.
The Rs 450 crore Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), scheduled for lift-off at 4.15pm on October 28, could be without Nasa's communication and navigation support. US space agency Nasa has asked 97% of its 18,000-strong workforce to go on unpaid leave. This has left many of its stations worldwide unmanned. The Isro mission is banking on such stations to track the spacecraft.
If the programme misses the October 28-November 19 launch window, India may have to ground the mission for at least two years.
Nasa had agreed to provide reimbursable communication and navigation support to Indian Space Research Organisation for MOM during the launch and post-launch phases when the spacecraft is out of coverage area of its navigation system.
Nasa was to help in accurate determination/ reconfirmation of orbit and position of spacecraft. "Nasa is currently closed due to a lapse in government funding. I am in furlough status; therefore, I am unable to respond to your message at this time," was the auto-reply from Nasa spokesperson to TOI's queries on this matter. Last month, he had told TOI about Nasa support to MOM.
An Isro spokesperson said: "It is too early to comment about this." Nasa support will cost Isro about Rs 70 crore.
Sources in Isro explained that the launch window is crucial as Mars and Earth will not be in positions suitable for such a programme till the end of 2015 or beginning of 2016. Prof UR Rao, chairman of the national committee of experts which cleared the project, declined to comment, saying it's a "political" matter.
But he said: "The launch window is important. We're trying to launch the spacecraft in the beginning of the window. If not November 19, we have time till early December. But once that is lost, we'll have to wait for two years."
He said traditionally, Isro avoids launching from Sriharikota during October and November. "It is generally avoided as it is cyclone season. But given the fact that such an opportunity will not be available for years if missed, we scheduled the launch and are hoping that weather does not play spoilsport."
The spacecraft which left Bangalore on Wednesday, reached launch site Sriharikota on Thursday evening. With components of the launch vehicle PSLV C 25 already at the launch site, integration of the spacecraft will begin on October 10.
Quelle: The Times of India
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Update: 7.10.2013
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NASA Reaffirms Support for Mars Orbiter Mission
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India's Mars Orbiter Mission spacecraft is scheduled for launch on the afternoon of October 28, 2013. The launch window remains open till November 19, 2013. The American NASA/JPL is providing communications and navigation support to this mission with their Deep Space Network facilities. According to Scientific Secretary, ISRO, NASA/JPL authorities have reaffirmed support for the Mars Orbiter Mission as planned and stated that the current US government partial shutdown will not affect the schedule of Mars Orbiter Mission.
Quelle: ISRO
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Update: 17.10.2013
ISRO to finalise launch of Mars Orbiter Mission
The primary objectives of the Mars mission are to demonstrate India’s technological capability to send a satellite to orbit around the planet
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Chennai: Preparations are afoot in Sriharikota for the launch of Mars Orbiter Mission Mangalyaan on PSLV C25, ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan said.
“The exact date and time of the launch will be decided in a meeting on Thursday. So by Friday, we will get to know the exact time and date of the launch,” he told reporters in Chennai.
On the launch of the GSLV D5, which was called off on 19 August after detection of a fuel leak, he said, “We are working on the GSLV for its launch in December.”
ISRO had stopped the countdown 74 minutes ahead of the scheduled launch at 1650 hours after noticing the leakage.
Once launched, Mars Orbiter Mission would go around the Earth for 20-25 days before embarking on a nine month voyage to the red planet.
The primary objectives of the Mars mission are to demonstrate India’s technological capability to send a satellite to orbit around the planet and conduct meaningful experiments such as looking for signs of life, take pictures of Mars and study the Martian environment.
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Quelle: HINDUSTAN TIMES
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Update: 18.10.2013
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India's Mars mission ready, but cyclone in the Pacific a worry, says ISRO
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New Delhi: First the good news. India's satellite for its maiden mission to Mars, the Mangalyaan and its rocket launch vehicle, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), are fully tested and ready.
But the bad news is that a cyclone lashing through the Pacific Ocean could slow things down. A final decision on whether the launch can take place on October 28 as per plan will be made only on Saturday when the final review is over.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said this as it conducted its final mission readiness review for Mangalyaan. The unmanned scientific satellite mission has cost India Rs. 450 crore.
For the first time India is deploying two special ships hired from the Shipping Corporation of India - the Nalanda and the Yamuna will monitor the health and movement of India's rocket several minutes after the launch while it is coasting in the sky over the Pacific Ocean. This is a special requirement for the Mars mission.
According to ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan, the movement of Indian ships in the Pacific has been slowed down due to bad weather conditions. In a few days, the picture would be clearer.
The Mangalyaan satellite was today fully fuelled and the spacecraft is now being mated to its rocket at Sriharikota. Both the machines, according to Mr Radhakrishnan, are in a state of readiness to meet the first launch window.
This time of the year is always a worry for ISRO as the weather at Sriharikota is influenced by the cyclone season in the Bay of Bengal.
For the first time, the ISRO is worried about weather in far- away Pacific Ocean to arrive at an opportune launch window for India's first inter-planetary mission.
Quelle: NDTV
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Update: 20.10.2013
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India's Mars mission delayed by a week
Chennai, India's Mars Orbiter Mission, scheduled for launch Oct 28, has been delayed and the fresh date will be announced later, said the space agency chief.
"Of the two ships Nalanda and Yamuna, only Yamanua has reached Fiji. Nalanda has not reached there. It is expected to reach Fiji only around Oct 21. So the Mars mission will not happen Oct 28. As the launch window is between Oct 28-Nov 19, we will decide on the revised date after the ship reaches Fiji," Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman K.Radhakrishnan told IANS.
He said the delay will be by a week and by Oct 22, the launch date is expected to be known.
The ship has terminals to track the rocket, which has a coasting period of around 20 minutes beyond the visibility of existing ground stations.
Radhakrishnan said the rocket has been assembled and the satellite integration is on now.
"In two days it will be over and then there will be checks on the rocket and satellite systems," he said.
Quelle: IANS
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India's Mars Orbiter Mission which was slated to be launched on October 28 has been postponed by a week due to bad weather and the new launch date will be decided on October 22.
'Nalanda', the ship which will track the movement of the satellite from the South Pacific Ocean, couldn't reach its designated spot due to bad weather.
Isro spokesperson Deviprasad Karnik said, "Two ships, Yamuna and Nalanda were to reach Fiji the land closest to their designated spots in the Pacific Ocean but Nalanda has been delayed due to bad weather. Our scientists and engineers have reached the island."
He said ships will be used to track the ignition of the fourth stage and separation of the spacecraft. "Unlike previous missions, by the fourth stage ignition the vehicle would have gone outside the range of our ground stations which is why we have to use ships," Karnik said.
Isro leased the ships from the Shipping Corporation of India and equipped them for tracking. The ships left Visakhapatnam in mid-September. Isro has sought Nasa's help to communicate and navigate the satellite when it reaches blind spots of their tracking systems.
Quelle: The Times of India
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Update: 22.10.2013
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Announcement of India's Mars Orbiter Spacecraft Launch Date
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The launch of India's first interplanetary probe, Mars Orbiter Spacecraft onboard PSLV-C25 (in its XL version), is scheduled on November 5, 2013 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota. The lift-off time is at 14:36 hrs IST.
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Quelle: ISRO
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Update: 29.10.2013
Final countdown for Mars mission starts on Sunday
MUMBAI: The final countdown for the much-awaited launch of India's Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) will start at 6am on November 3, an Isro official said on Monday. The launch is slated for 2.36pm on November 5.
Isro chairman, K Radhakrishnan told the media that postponement of the launch from October 28 to November 5 has come as an advantage because the spacecraft will be less exposed to the Van Allen radiation belt.
The 56-and-a-half-hour final countdown will consist of filling liquid propellants in the second and fourth stage of the rocket, and checking the electrical system and the communication network. PSLV-XL, the rocket which will be used for the launch, is an advanced version of the four-stage Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle.
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Quelle: The Times of India
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Nachfolgende Fotos von PSLV-C25-Spacecraft Integration
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Spacecraft Movement for Testing
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Spacecraft Testing - View 1
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Spacecraft Testing - View 2
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Loading Spacecraft for Thermovacuum Test in Large Space Simulation Chamber
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Mars Orbiter Mission Spacecraft is being integrated to the 4th stage of PSLV-C25
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Mars Orbiter Mission Spacecraft attached to the 4th stage of PSLV-C25 and ready for heat shield closure
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PSLV-C25 with heat shield closed
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Quelle: ISRO
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Update: 30.10.2013
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Bangalore to Mars
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The container truck bearing the Mars orbiter being received at SHAR, Sriharikota.
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THE truck trailer that rolled ever so gently from Bangalore to Sriharikota at a speed of 10 kilometres an hour and covered a distance of 345 kilometres would have fooled any passer-by into thinking that some inconsequential cargo truck was on its way to some port.
The 1,350-kg Mars orbiter carrying five scientific instruments held in a sophisticated container with special contraptions hit the road on the first lap of its journey to Mars on October 2 and reached the spaceport more than 34 hours later. The five payloads, all built by the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Space Application Centre in Ahmedabad, the Laboratory for Electro-Optic Systems (LEOS) in Bangalore and the Space Physics Laboratory in Thiruvananthapuram, were integrated into the spacecraft bus at the ISRO Satellite Centre, Bangalore.
Deviprasad Karnik, ISRO spokesman, said the spacecraft underwent a battery of tests at a facility at the ISRO Satellite Centre where vacuum conditions in space and the solar radiation that would fall on it were simulated to check the orbiter’s space-worthiness and its performance level under such conditions. The orbiter faced thermal-balancing tests to verify whether the heat falling on the various places in the spacecraft during its 300-day odyssey in space would be within permissible limits. Tests were also done to see whether the orbiter’s “appendages” (its solar panels and high-gain antenna) deployed as predicted. The spacecraft was then ferried to the ISRO Satellite Integration and Test Establishment (ISITE), also in Bangalore, where it was subjected to vibration and acoustic tests.
“After qualifying the spacecraft for its space-worthiness, it was put into a special container, which had a controlled environment and monitoring devices, and transported from Bangalore to Sriharikota,” said Karnik.
The container had a console to monitor the health of the spacecraft by constantly checking the temperature, humidity and vibration levels during transportation. The solar array drive assembly, a critical component of the orbiter, was purged by pumping pure, dry nitrogen gas into it. This took place within the container. The spacecraft was mounted on a platform, which was cushioned to enable it to withstand the effect of vibration during its road journey to Sriharikota. On reaching the spaceport, the orbiter underwent more pre-launch tests. It was filled with fuel on October 15 and married up with the fourth stage of the PSLV-XL on October 20.
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Interview with K. Radhakrishnan, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation.
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IN THE RUN-UP TO THE LAUNCH OF THE MARS Orbiter Mission (MOM), which is scheduled from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on November 5, K. Radhakrishnan, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), spoke to T.S. Subramanian and R. Ramachandran of Frontline separately and at different times, with the former in October and with the latter in September. Excerpts from the two interviews combined:
T.S. Subramanian: Are things on course for the Mars Orbiter Mission? What kind of preparations have you made for it?
We are ready for the Mars Orbiter Mission. On October 14, we completed the fuelling of the orbiter. Nearly 852 kg of fuel, that is, a combination of mono methyl hydrazine (MMH) and mixed oxides of nitrogen (MON3)—fuel and oxidiser respectively—has already been pumped into the orbiter.
As for the PSLV [Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle], the launch vehicle has been assembled. We had earlier completed the phase 3, level 2 checks, that is, electrical checks, on the entire vehicle. The spacecraft has been mated with the launch vehicle. The launch window for the MOM from SHAR is open up to November 19.
There are two activities: one is the integrated check of the vehicle and the spacecraft together and we call it phase 3, level 3. In this test, all ground stations—SHAR and ISTRAC [ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network]—will take part. We check out all the systems, and after everything is clear we will do the launch rehearsal. The launch rehearsal will be for all the activities of the countdown. We will go through this simulation and after that, we will again have a Mission Readiness Review [MRR] and the Launch Authorisation Board [LAB] meetings to give the authorisation for the launch.
We have one ground station at Byalalu [near Bangalore] as our deep-space ground station, which has been augmented from 2 kilowatt to 20 kw of power. There is a set of operations to be done by ISTRAC once the PSLV injects the orbiter into an elliptical orbit. That elliptical orbit will have an apogee of 23,500 km and a perigee of 250 km. So all the operations to be performed in the subsequent weeks on the orbiter to raise its apogee and for its trans-Mars injection are to be performed by the ISTRAC and then there is a long voyage of 300 days. [During that voyage], there will be at least three mid-course corrections, which means the firing of the small thrusters on board the orbiter. Then, finally, on September 21, 2014, we will have the crucial Mars orbit insertion.
Quelle: Frontline
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MOM Launch Rehearsal at Sriharikota on Oct 31
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Ahead of the launch of its Rs 430 crore Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), India's premier space agency ISRO will tomorrow carry out a launch rehearsal at the First Launch Pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre here.
"We will carry out a launch rehearsal tomorrow at 6.08 AM. Except for pressing the 'ignite' button, all other procedures would be checked and see whether all preparations are in place," PSLV C-25 Mission Director P Kunhikrishnan told reporters here.
PSLV C-25 carrying the Mars Orbiter spacecraft is slated for lift-off at 2.36 PM on November 5.
The launch rehearsal would go through the last eight-and-a-half hour simulation of the 56-and-a-half-hour countdown. Satellite battery check up, withdrawing of mobile service tower and checking various technical parameters, including electrical activities would be part of the launch rehearsal, he said.
The satellite has been already integrated with the launch vehicle, which is ready for launch in the First Launch Pad.
ISRO chief K Radhakrishnan, talking to reporters in Chennai en route here, said the countdown would begin on November 3.
"We are getting ready for the launch of Mars Orbiter spacecraft onboard PSLV-C25. Tomorrow we will be doing the rehearsal of the launch countdown", he said.
"The lift-off is expected in the afternoon of November 5," he said responding to a query.
One of the main objectives the first Indian mission to Mars is to develop the technologies required for design, planning, management and operations of an interplanetary mission.
Asked about the launch of GSLV-D5 which was called off in August due to a fuel leak, Radhakrishnan said the work on GSLV assembly was proceeding.
"The GSLV assembly is going on at the moment. By December 15, we should have the launch," he said.
Quelle: Outlook-India
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Update: 31.10.2013
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Mars mission dream come true for ISRO
India is set to fly it’s first ever mission to another planet with the Mars mission slated for launch on November 5. The spacecraft named the Mars Orbiter Mission will take about nine months to move from the earth’s orbit to that of Mars and is estimated to reach the Martian orbit in September 2014. It is the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) first quest to find signs of life on Mars and learn some lessons possibly. Across the world, only five other space agencies have been able to send missions to the neighbouring planet — and about half of the 45-odd missions sent up have failed to even reach Mars.
India’s Mars mission carries a `450-crore price tag, way below what Nasa, the European Space Agency, Japan and China spent on their journeys to Mars. ISRO says indigenisation kept costs down. The decision to use the reliable Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) also helped. The mission launch will mark the PSLV’s silver jubilee. The orbiter will ride an advanced variant of the rocket, the PSLV-XL — the rocket type that took India to the moon in 2008. Unlike other Mars missions which had a straight flight trajectory, India’s orbiter will first be placed in an elliptical earth orbit because of the rocket’s weight constraints.If this feat is accomplished it’ll be a giant leap in India’s 50-year-old space programme. Former ISRO chairman Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan describes the Mars mission as part of India’s planetary exploration strategy. So India’s first step to another planet is exciting not just because it’s a first, but because it is one that will keep the scientist community on edge for all of nine months, until the spacecraft actually reaches its spot around Mars. When the Mars rocket takes off next week, it will carry with it not just a spacecraft, but the dreams of thousands of curious scientists looking for answers to some basic questions on our existence.
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Quelle:INDIAN EXPRESS
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Update: 1.11.2013
The excitement is really building toward India's first-ever attempt at an interplanetary spacecraft! Launch day is quickly approaching for the Mars Orbiter Mission. Liftoff is still scheduled for Tuesday, November 5, 2013, at 14:38 IST (09:08 UTC / 01:08 PST). The latest news from the mission is that a launch rehearsal was successfully completed today. Isn't that rocket beautiful:
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ISRO
India's PSLV-C25 prepared to launch the Mars Orbiter Mission
On October 31, 2013, the Mars Orbiter Mission rested atop its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) during a rehearsal of the launch, planned for November 5.
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Isro vehicle director B. Jayakumar speaks to the press along with other officials in front of Mars Orbiter Mission in the First Launch Pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on Wednesday.
Quelle: ISRO
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Update: 2.11.2013
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Quelle: ISRO
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Update: 5.11.2013
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MOM’s Last Night on Earth; Midnight Marvel for India’s Mars Mission – Live Webcast
It’ s a Mind-Blowing Midnight Marvel !
India’s fueled PSLV rocket and Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) await Nov. 5 blastoff at 14:38 hrs IST (9:08 UTC, 4:08 a.m. EST). Credit: ISRO.
Watch ISRO’s Live Webcast
MOM is spending her last night on Earth – and she’s a Mind-Blowing Midnight Marvel !
Quelle: ISRO
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Erfolgreicher Start
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Frams: Start-Video ISRO
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Quelle: ISRO
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Update: 21.45 MEZ
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Keeping up with tradition, Isro chairman K Radhakrishnan offered prayers to Lord Balaji at Tirupati. A model of the to-be-launched rocket and satellite was placed before the deity and blessings were sought for a successful launch. Mars Orbiter Mission is heading into space today
Quelle: dna
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Quelle: hindustantimes
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PSLV C25 lifts off from its launchpad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on Tuesday. During the launch, ISRO chairman Dr K. Radhakrishnan and senior space scientists spent anxious moments at the launchpad control room.
A technician monitors the functions of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C25) at the Satish Dhawan Space Center at Sriharikota (File photo). The third state ignition took place seconds later at 265.94 seconds and the third stage separation happened at 583.60 seconds at an altitude of 194.86 km. Thereafter, the crucial 4th stage ignition took place at 2100 seconds at an altitude of 271.317 km.
With a huge roar and plumes of smoke and fire, India’s first attempt at inter-planetary flight — the Mars Orbiter Mission — blasted off to space at 2.38 pm from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre spaceport here on board the workhorse PSLV-C25. With clear skies, it was a perfect textbook launch - DD photo via Twitter
People watch the television coverage of the progress of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C25) rocket that carries the Mars orbiter spacecraft, in New Delhi on Tuesday. India aims to join the world's deep-space pioneers with a journey to Mars hoping it will showcase India's technological ability to explore the solar system while seeking solutions for everyday problems on Earth. AP
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Update: 6.11.2013
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Start-Rückblick
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Quelle: ISRO
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Update: 8.11.2013
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Isro successful in raising orbit of Mars spacecraft
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Scientists at Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) on Thursday raised the orbit of its Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) spacecraft, which was launched on Tuesday.
This was the first in a series of five orbit-raising manoeuvres, which will eventually put the spacecraft on the trajectory towards Mars on December 1.
The remaining manoeuvres are scheduled for November 8, 9 11 and 16.
At 1.17am on Thursday, the 440-Newton liquid engine of the spacecraft was fired for 416 seconds by commanding it from Spacecraft Control Centre at Isro Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network at Peenya in Bangalore, said Isro in a statement.
With this engine firing, the spacecraft's apogee (the point in the orbit of a satellite which is farthest from Earth) has been raised to 28,825km, while its perigee (the orbit's nearest point to Earth) is at 252km.
"The satellite health is fine," an Isro scientist said.
The Mars Orbiter Spacecraft, India's first interplanetary spacecraft, was launched on November 5 from Sriharikota into an elliptical earth orbit by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle in its 25th flight (PSLV-C25).
The spacecraft has to go several rounds around Earth to gradually increase its velocity to attain the escape velocity with minimum fuel consumption.
Following a 300-day interplanetary phase, the spacecraft will enter the Mars orbit on September 24, 2014. The five payloads on the spacecraft will thereafter perform various scientific experiments.
